BY N E L S O N M A N D E L A

LONG WALK TO FREEDOM

BEFORE READING: CONNECT TO YOUR LIFE

• Label the next page in your LNb “Long Walk to Freedom.”• Then answer the following question. You should

write at least 5 sentences and be prepared to share your answer.• What do you know about the struggle against apartheid? • If you are not familiar with this term, use a dictionary to look

it up. Write its definition and discuss how you feel about it.

BEFORE READING: UNDERSTAND VOCABULARY

• Antonyms are words that are opposite in meaning.• You can sometimes understand words in context

by recognizing and interpreting antonyms.• Their views on taxation are divided, but their views on

education are indivisible.• Divided and indivisible are antonyms.

• Which word is more familiar to you?• What does it mean?• Based on that information, what does indivisible mean?• Not able to be divided

BEFORE READING: UNDERSTAND VOCABULARY

• Define the underlined words using the antonyms found in each sentence.• Parts of the poem are understandable, but other parts are

incomprehensible.• Antonym:• Meaning of incomprehensible:

• Expecting fragility, I was surprised by the resiliency of the tree’s branches.• Antonym:• Meaning of resiliency:

BEFORE READING: UNDERSTAND VOCABULARY

• The children were only transitory neighbors, yet the formed a lasting friendship.• Antonym:• Meaning of transitory:

• Her question served to extend the conversation rather than curtail it.• Antonym:• Meaning of curtail:

READING 1: MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS

• Main idea is the author’s principle message.• The main idea can be the central idea of the

entire work or just a paragraph.• Details such as facts or additional thoughts

clarify, or support, the main idea.• Complete the main idea ws as you do your first

reading of Long Walk to Freedom.

READING 2: MEMOIRS

• A memoir is a form of an autobiography that includes specific events through which the writer lived.• From which point of view (1st or 3rd) is a memoir

written?• How are a memoir and a biography similar and

different?• Similar: Both recount part or all of a person’s life.• Different: A memoir is written in the first person, and a

biography is written in the third-person.

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• How did Mandela’s understanding of freedom change over the course of his life? What particular insight did he gain while in prison?• What does Mandela believe is South Africa’s

greatest resource?• What was Mandela’s reason for joining the African

National Conference?• Why does Mandela think oppressors need

freeing?• What does Mandela say must happen in order for

his people to be completely free?

READING 2: MEMOIRS

• Compare “Eleanor Roosevelt,” which we read earlier this semester, with Long Walk to Freedom. • In your LNb, identify the purpose of each selection. Be specific.• Explain how the point of view affects that purpose.• Purpose of “Eleanor Roosevelt”: to show the evolution of a scared

little girl into a world leader. The story of ER is set against events of the world, but is largely her story told by a third-person narrator.

• Purpose of Long Walk to Freedom: to show that the struggle for freedom requires the work of a nation of people. It is largely the story of a people, told through the first-person account of one of the participants.

• The POV supports the purpose of each work.

• Complete the Memoir ws while you read the story for the second time.

READING 3: AUTHOR’S VIEWPOINT

• Author’s viewpoint is the author’s attitude or feeling about the subject.• The viewpoint is often discussed in terms of the

author’s bias.• You can detect the author’s bias by looking for

statements that express a personal belief.

• Complete the Author’s Viewpoint ws while you read the story for the third time.